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TOPIC: ESA WCA

I had a WCA and was told by telephone that I was found to be fit to do some work. I was asked if I was going to appeal and I said yes. They have now sent me the findings of the assessment by a HCP but in a report format. I want to ask for a mandatory reconsideration, but need to know if I can state the reasons why I feel that the decision was incorrect. I would appreciate some guidance on this please.

Firstly, you can put all your efforts into showing how and why you should have scored points against the ESA descriptors. It is tempting to try and argue every point that the assessor made but you should concentrate your efforts on areas where you believe you should have scored.

Secondly, you can decide that MRs seldom do anything other than 'rubber stamp' the original decision, supply little information, get a quick decision and move on to a formal appeal. This is sometimes preferred if the claimant wants to get payment of the ESA assessment rate resumed as son as possible.

You can claim JSA now if you need money to live on. You have officially been declared 'fit for work'. Once your claim has been accepted you can submit a fitnote which should see you excused from job seeking activities for up to 13 weeks.

If you do not need money immediately, you should still obtain fitnotes (starting the day after your claim ended) and keep them to one side.

Once the Tribunal Service notify DWP that an official appeal has been received payment of the ESA assessment rate will start again. Payment will go back to the day after the claim was refused if you have not claimed JSA in the meanwhile.

May I suggest that you favourite/bookmark this on your web browser now so that you can find it easily in future? This will allow you to return with further questions or comments, at any stage in the process, without having to start a new topic each time. It helps us enormously when everything relating to the same claim is kept in one topic - and I hope you will find it useful too

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

Hi, I have just received my doctor's report. There are quite a few things that I don't even remember her asking about. What do I have to state when asking for a mandatory reconsideration please. I guess I don't really want to go into so much detail at this point if they are just going to rubber stamp the original decision. Obviously, they need something from me to go on if they are being asked to reconsider. Many thanks

Hi, I have just received my doctor's report. There are quite a few things that I don't even remember her asking about. What do I have to state when asking for a mandatory reconsideration please. I guess I don't really want to go into so much detail at this point if they are just going to rubber stamp the original decision. Obviously, they need something from me to go on if they are being asked to reconsider. Many thanks

You don't have to go into detail why you are making the request, there's a template letter in the ESA section that you can use.

Hi, I have today received the MRN decision and like you said, they have basically rubber stamped their original decision. I now have to appeal. Can you tell me if I have to go into detail why I believe their decision to be incorrect. Also, the HCP has stated some things in her report that I did not say. She is the professional, so will they believe me if I tell them that I did not say those things?